Dancing in the Moonlight - Harlequin.com
Dancing in the Moonlight - Harlequin.com
Dancing in the Moonlight - Harlequin.com
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RAEANNE THAYNE<br />
55<br />
He reached a hand out. “Come on. It won’t kill you<br />
to say yes.”<br />
To him, it might. She swallowed. “Yes. Okay. Thank<br />
you. Just a moment. I have to put <strong>the</strong> pros<strong>the</strong>sis back<br />
on or I won’t be able to dismount.”<br />
“I can help you with that, too. I’ll just drive around<br />
to <strong>the</strong> barn and meet you <strong>the</strong>re.”<br />
Just leave, for heaven’s sake! “No. I’ll be f<strong>in</strong>e.”<br />
Ignor<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> sharp stabs of pa<strong>in</strong>, she pulled her stump<br />
sock back on, <strong>the</strong>n <strong>the</strong> pros<strong>the</strong>sis over that. With no<br />
small amount of pride <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> m<strong>in</strong>or ac<strong>com</strong>plishment, she<br />
forced herself to move casually toward <strong>the</strong> sweet little<br />
bay mare she liked to ride whenever she was home.<br />
Jake met her at <strong>the</strong> horse’s side. Instead of simply<br />
giv<strong>in</strong>g her a boost <strong>in</strong>to <strong>the</strong> saddle as she expected, he lifted<br />
her <strong>in</strong>to his arms with what appeared to be no effort.<br />
For just a moment he held her close. He smelled <strong>in</strong>credible,<br />
a strangely <strong>com</strong>pell<strong>in</strong>g mixture of fabric<br />
softener, clean male and some k<strong>in</strong>d of ruggedly sexy<br />
aftershave that rem<strong>in</strong>ded her of stand<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> a high<br />
mounta<strong>in</strong> forest after a summer storm.<br />
She couldn’t believe how secure she felt to have<br />
strong male arms around her, even for a moment—even<br />
though those arms belonged to Jake Dalton.<br />
Her heart pounded so hard she thought he must certa<strong>in</strong>ly<br />
be able to hear it, and she needed every iota of<br />
concentration to keep her features and her body<br />
language coolly <strong>com</strong>posed so he wouldn’t sense her<br />
reaction was anyth<strong>in</strong>g but casual.<br />
He lifted her <strong>in</strong>to <strong>the</strong> saddle and set her up, careful<br />
not to jostle her leg, <strong>the</strong>n he stepped away.